Medicaid and Antipsychotic Drugs for Children: Poverty at Work?

According to research discussed in the New York Times this morning, children whose family poverty makes them eligible for Medicaid are four times as likely to be given antipsychotic drugs than children whose families have private health insurance, and the drugs are more likely to be given to the Medicaid children for less severe mental and behavioral conditions (Wilson,D.[2009, Dec. 12]. Poor children likelier to get antipsychotics. New York Times, p. A1, p. A11). Concerns about this are related to the known potential side effects of such drugs, including serious weight gain and metabolic changes which do not disappear when the medication is stopped. Because of these worries, a group of state Medicaid directors has started a project called "Too Many, Too Much, Too Young" (sorry, I cannot find any web site discussing this project; can readers help?).

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